Jan. 20: The number of swine flu cases in Massachusetts is much higher than the 1,957 reported last week by the state Department of Public Health, according to state and local health officials. That’s because most people who have become ill since the virus arrived in the state last April were never tested for the H1N1 virus.

Dec. 12: An increasing number of kids today are following new classroom and day care etiquettes by washing their hands after they blow their nose and turning the water faucet off by using a paper towel.

Dec. 8: Most local towns have had limited supplies of vaccine so far, and chose to hold office appointments for vaccinations instead of clinics. But that’s starting to change as the vaccine becomes more widely available, according to health board officials.

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Nov. 29: Swine flu put the family of a 4-year-old Brockton boy through an emotional wringer. Doctors say Brandon Winn is fine now, after an illness that gave his parents the scare of their lives.

Nov. 21: While swine flu cases have dipped in the last week or so, we are not out of the woods yet, state health officials warn. Flu activity is still far higher than its been in prior years – and there were two deaths last week of Massachusetts residents who tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

Nov. 18: Hull distributed about 150 doses of the H1N1 nasal spray to healthy people 7 to 49 years old — and had just enough left over for one more nose as of 9:30 Wednesday morning, according to the town’s public health director, Joyce Sullivan.

Nov. 14: An estimated 600 people turned out for the H1N1 swine flu clinic Saturday at Hanover High School. The town's public health staff had to turn away some, after 510 doses that it had were used up and the remaining vaccine was only suitable for certain individuals.

Nov. 8: Unless it is a severe case, doctors no longer identify which sub-type of flu is present in a patient — whether it is swine flu or another of the Type A varieties of flu. And a swine flu case is not technically confirmed until it has been tested by the state laboratory. That doesn’t satisfy parents searching for more definitive information so they help protect their children.

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Nov. 8: The best way to contain the virus is to get parents to keep sick children at home, so schools have distributed literature to parents and posted information on their Web sites to help them recognize when a child should be kept home.

Nov. 6: Superintendent Matthew Malone has not taken the advice of the city’s public health director about the process for vaccinating students against H1N1 influenza, ordering the vaccinations to be done outside of school hours.

Oct. 29: Swine flu, bird flu, Hong Kong flu, Asian flu, all the epidemics of recent history pale in comparison with "the grippe." For one long month toward the end of World War I, one of the deadliest epidemics in history brought life to a fearful standstill.

Oct. 28: Cardinal Spellman High School is joining the list of schools hit with the H1N1 virus. There has been one confirmed case of the flu at the school. Raynham and Taunton schools have already had a number of suspected or confirmed cases.

Oct. 28: There are now two confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in town, according to Health Agent Alan Perry. Perry told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night that the only cases confirmed by the state involve a 4-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman.

Oct. 25: For a brief period last spring, the state was advising school districts and day care centers to close temporarily if a single student had a confirmed case of swine flu or had been exposed to a family member with a confirmed case. But those guidelines were quickly eased. The emphasis now is on keeping schools open and sick people at home.

Oct. 25: The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District last week reported four cases of students with swine flu at LaLiberte Elementary School in Raynham, and one case of the virus at the town’s middle school. But Board of Health Agent Alan Perry said that those are currently being considered by the town’s board of health as “suspected cases” only.

Oct. 24: Massachusetts hospitals overwhelmed by incoming flu patients will be able to waive procedural steps to open new, temporary facilities under rules implemented Saturday when President Obama declared a state of emergency.

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Oct. 21: Health officials have released figures for swine flu hospitalizations and deaths for the seven weeks since the beginning of September. It showed more than half of all hospitalizations were people 24 and younger; more than a quarter were ages 5 to 18 years.

Oct. 21: Swine flu has likely spread to many more people than publicly reported, but the vast majority of cases have been mild, public health authorities say. Still, there is no way to know if a more severe outbreak will follow the current wave of the virus, as occurred in prior epidemics.

Oct. 21: Selectmen said they still have not received any documentation from the state or the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District regarding Raynham students being infected with H1N1, also known as swine flu.

Oct. 21: With the virus gaining momentum, focus is now on whether hospitals are ready for those who did not get the shot, or didn’t get it in time? Some of the opinions being offered are not very encouraging and yet it’s not cause for panic either.

Oct. 20: When Middleboro Pediatrics in Lakeville opened its doors Monday morning for what may have been the region’s first H1N1 vaccine clinic, about 100 parents and children were lined up and waiting to get in. Hundreds more would arrive throughout the day.

Oct. 14: Two students at Oct. 14: LaLiberte Elementary School have contracted the H1N1 influenza virus and several other students are considered possible cases, Principal Dennis Bray said in a recorded phone message to parents Tuesday. Two teachers at the school have also fallen ill with flu-like symptoms, Bray said in the message.

Oct. 10: As the first wave of swine flu vaccine crosses the country, more than a third of parents, 38 percent, don’t want their kids vaccinated, according to a new poll. Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine – even though nothing serious has turned up in tests so far – while others say swine flu doesn’t amount to any greater health threat than seasonal flu.

Oct. 8: The Hingham college student who died from flu complications last month didn’t have the H1N1 virus, according to the Ohio Department of Health. But the family of Matthew Healey said they were not surprised that the latest test came back negative, given what doctors had told the family to expect.

Oct. 8: Despite assurances that there’d be ample supply of the seasonal flu vaccine, some health care facilities are running low as the flu season draws near. More doses of swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines are expected to be delivered soon.

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Sept. 29: Matthew Healey first felt sick on Monday, Aug. 31, and started taking Tamiflu the next day, his mother said. The following day, a doctor told him he was likely infected with the H1N1 virus and prescribed an antibiotic. Three days later, weak and dehydrated, the Hingham teenager was taken by ambulance to University Hospital in Cincinnati and admitted to intensive care in critical condition.

Sept. 28: Thayer Academy students, alumni and parents planned to spend part of homecoming in silent meditation for Matthew Healey of Hingham, who lay gravely ill in a Cincinnati hospital. Instead, they spent the weekend mourning the death of the popular 18-year-old. Healey died Saturday, three weeks after being hospitalized with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

Sept. 28: Thayer Academy students, alumni and parents planned to spend part of homecoming in silent meditation for Matthew Healey of Hingham, who lay gravely ill in a Cincinnati hospital. Instead, they spent the weekend mourning the death of the popular 18-year-old. Healey died Saturday, three weeks after being hospitalized with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. (Are you worried you or someone you know

Sept. 26: Supporters of an emergency response bill say a lot of misinformation is circulating about what it would do and that it borrows from regulations and laws already on the law books. But critics point out its language is broad and key points are left undefined. (What's your opinion? Open the story to take our poll and to share your thoughts.)

Sept. 22: Health officials are preparing for a record number of flu cases this winter, both from the usual strain of flu and the much-publicized H1N1 virus, formerly called swine flu. But for all the hype over H1N1, health officials say the main difference between it and the regular flu is simply the age of the people it’s most likely to infect.

Sept. 21: Harold Klesath, who is 89, is probably too healthy for the swine flu vaccine. Because of production and distribution schedules and who is most vulnerable to the virus, the federal guidelines call for the new H1N1 vaccine to be given first to pregnant women, those who live with or care for children 6 months or younger, health care workers and people ages 6 months to 24 years.

Sept. 17: Senate Bill 2028, passed unanimously by the state Senate on April 28, empowers state and local health officials to quarantine citizens and search, close, evacuate and destroy private property if the governor declares a public health emergency.

Aug. 19: The federal Centers for Disease Control said the vaccination program this fall and winter is likely to be the largest school vaccination since the polio vaccine was first available in the 1950s.

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July 31: Heeding a federal advisory, Kerisa Fitzgerald plans to ask her doctor about swine flu shots during her next prenatal visit, seeking assurances that the pending vaccine is both safe and necessary.

July 29: A 62-year-old Middlesex County resident and a 53-year-old from Worcester County have died from swine flu, state health officials said, bringing the total number of Bay State residents succumbing to the virus to seven.

June 2: Nantucket Cottage Hospital treated the island’s first two cases of swine flu yesterday and today. NCH director of community relations Chuck Gifford confirmed that a 30-year-old female was treated and released on Monday, and is recovering at home, and that less than 24 hours later, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a positive test for the second case around 11 a.m. yesterday

May 8: Two swine flu cases have been identified in Needham, according to the Needham Health Department, but neither case involves students or faculty at Needham Public Schools, Superintendent Dan Gutekanst said.

May 6: A student at Fairfield University in Connecticut was sent home to Quincy with what turned out to be the swine flu. She has since recovered. Meanwhile, a Scituate woman stayed home from her job in Braintree as a precaution after vacationing in Mexico.

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May 4: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 226 confirmed cases of swine flu and 1 death in 30 states, including seven in Massachusetts. Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., says the outbreak may be mild now, but if the virus mutates into one as deadly as the 1918 flu, the world would not be prepared.

May 4: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 226 confirmed cases of swine flu and 1 death in 30 states, including seven in Massachusetts. Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, says the outbreak may be mild now, but if the virus mutates into one as deadly as the 1918 flu, the world would not be prepared.

May 4: A week of swine flu stories has most people recoiling from the thought of contact with others but our story last week about a Randolph High School program showed the incalculable power of touch.

May 2: A Plymouth County resident who has contracted swine flu had not traveled to Mexico recently, state officials said Friday. It’s unknown how the 34-year-old resident came to contract the virus, said Jennifer Manley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health. The department confirmed four new cases of swine flu in Massachusetts on Friday.

May 2: As a lark, Stan Dulevskis packed a white surgical mask in his carry-on bag for a trip to Tampa, Fla., Thursday. Dulevskis was one of several people at Logan Express in Framingham, Mass., who expressed concern about traveling during the swine flu pandemic. Despite that, they were undeterred.

May 2: Massachusetts health officials say a 34-year-old in Plymouth County has been infected and a New York resident was treated at Quincy Medical Center. Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach says more cases in the state are expected in the coming days.

May 1: The city health inspector confirmed today that a New York resident who checked into Quincy Medical Center last Sunday was infected with swine flu. The case was not one of 4 additional cases that state health officials announced at 5 p.m. Three of whose cases are in Middlesex County and one is in Plymouth County.

May 1: Religious leaders around the country want to be sure they don’t pass on swine flu so they are modifying worship services to avoid any possible contagion among congregants. As of Thursday, there were two confirmed cases in Massachusetts of swine flu, both in Lowell.

May 1: Test results show that a teacher from Easton-based Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School who vacationed in Mexico last week does not have swine flu, the school superintendent said today. The teacher is expected to return to work on Monday.

April 29: A second potential local case of the swine flu has been identified. The person was a patient at a Signature Healthcare doctor’s office, Signature spokeswoman Rachel Labas said today. Labas did not immediately have details about what led doctors to suspect swine flu or where the doctor’s office is located.

April 29: The swine influenza outbreak continues to grow in the United States. The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention reported 64 confirmed cases of swine flu, up from 40 cases reported Monday, and one death has been reporter.

April 29: The CDC on Wednesday confirmed the nation’s first swine flu death in the current outbreak, a 23-month-old child in Texas. The first swine flu death outside of Mexico was confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Dave Daigle.

April 29: Biological samples from at least two dozen sick people in Massachusetts have been sent to a state laboratory to determine if they are victims of swine flu. No confirmed cases have been reported in the state, but at least five dozen swine flu cases have been confirmed in the U.S.

April 28: A patient at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital was identified as a potential swine flu case today, a hospital official said. Dr. Marc Greenwald, chief of medicine, said the patient exhibited flu symptoms and had recently traveled to Mexico, where the swine flu has struck hardest.

April 28: As I write this there haven’t been any cases of swine flu in Massachusetts, but no one would be surprised if it started showing up. American health officials have already declared a public health emergency.

April 28: Swine influenza viruses are not spread by food (you cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products), it is spread like other flu forms. Here are some things to do to avoid being infected.